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Is anybody running higher wattage lamps in their GT foglights? I saw some H3-100W (instead of stock 55W) Sylvania lamps at Pep Boys the other day and thought it might be interesting to give them a shot. I don't want to melt or discolor anything, though. Any thoughts or experience would be appreciated.

I put a set of 4060 PIAA's on the wife's Outback. You'd be surprised what a difference a quality design will do for lighting. I'm not sure what will fit in the GT though. Hers are like 6.5 or so round. They are head and shoulders above the OEM Blazer lamps that were there. If you go higher wattage you just have to put in a relay and new wiring to handle the extra current. There are kits available for that. Competition Limited has them I think. I can't find the URL right now though.

Forget my previous question! I actually already had a set of Hella 500's. I had mounted the lights Sunday night, but didn't run the wiring until tonight. Anyway, all I can say is WOW! Them babies don't need any more wattage. I bought the driving lights and kept my factory fogs in place. I can get into some dark areas here in Oklahoma, and I wanted to improve the distance vision at night. They are a fantastic set of lights. That may be the best $70 I've spent!

I have used overwattage bulbs in my cars for over 15 years with no problems. As an engineer in the automotive field, I find it very hard to believe there is no margin of safty in the electrical system. And hey, there are fuses. My bulbs are usually 80/100 Watt.

There are potential problems though. My applications have been using Hella or Cibie lights that were designed for these bulbs. These bulbs will produce more heat, and will likely damage plastic housings found on cars like my subaru.

So, I agree this is a potential problem, I believe it has more to do with the heat the bulb produces in a reflector not designed for the heat rather than the electrical system.

I have had problems with housings not designed for brighter bulbs (i.e. fog lights) but not with a proper Cibie/Hella reflector.

Just my two cents worth. I certainly would like to hear of someone who had an electrical problem with higher wattage bulbs.

hey MX5, I agree the stock wiring is probably ok in the headlights for a little over-wattage- the circuit is set-up w/ 2 15 Amp fuses (15 Amps is way more than 100 Watts for 12 Volts, and most bulbs are designed for 13 Volts) and 2 15 Amp relays, one for each bulb.

However the fog lamp wiring is pretty wimpy, w/ 1 15 Amp fuse and 1 15 Amp relay for both lamps, so even at 110 Watts (2X55) there's not a big margin built in.

However the fog lamp wiring is pretty wimpy, w/ 1 15 Amp fuse and 1 15 Amp relay for both lamps, so even at 110 Watts (2X55) there's not a big margin built in.

Thanks, that is a good point.

FYI, when I overwatted some fog lights (in a different car), the end result is that they were no longer weather proof. They got water in them, and this of course did not go well with the Halogen bulb. Had to replace both lights.